Heart attack Medications

Aspirin

Therapy or treatment for heart attack includes daily intake of Low dose aspirin (75 to 300mgs). Aspirin reduces the platelet aggregation, and thereby chances of further block decreased. Aspirin should be taken with precaution in patients with gastritis because it may cause severe damage to the stomach’s inner lining, severe gastric bleeding, and sometimes death due to hypovolemic shock.

Nitrates

These drugs directly act on blood vessels and dilate them. Reduces the oxygen demand by heart muscle and increases the oxygen supply to the muscle.

Glyceryl Tri Nitrate

It is given sublingually(the tablet is crushed and retained under the tongue. Relieves chest pain in 3 to5 minutes

Special Heart Attack Treatment Procedures

Doctors sometimes need a special procedure to improve blood flow to the heart muscle when the heart’s arteries are narrowed or blocked. Two commonly used procedures are coronary angioplasty and coronary artery bypass graft surgery. These procedures can be done during a heart attack or later.

While a heart attack is happening, the sooner these procedures are done, the greater the chances of saving heart muscle and surviving a heart attack.

Here’s more on heart attack procedures:

Coronary angioplasty, or balloon angioplasty. A fine tube, or catheter, is threaded through an artery into the narrowed heart vessel in this procedure. The catheter has a tiny balloon at its tip. The balloon is repeatedly inflated and deflated to open and stretch the artery, improving blood flow. The balloon is then deflated, and the tube is removed.

Doctors often insert a stent during the angioplasty. A wire mesh tube, the stent, is used to keep an artery open after angioplasty. The stent stays permanently in the artery.

In up to a third of those with angioplasty, the blood vessel becomes narrowed or blocked again within six months. This is more likely to happen if you smoke or have diabetes or unstable angina. Vessels that reclose may be re-opened with another angioplasty or need a coronary artery bypass graft. Even an artery with a stent can reclose.

Coronary artery bypass graft operation. Also known as “bypass surgery,” the procedure uses a piece of vein taken from the leg or of an artery taken from the chest or wrist. This is attached to the heart artery above and below the narrowed area, thus bypassing the blockage. Sometimes, more than one bypass is needed.

Bypass surgery may be needed for various reasons, such as an angioplasty that did not sufficiently widen the blood vessel or blockages that cannot be reached by or are too long or hard for angioplasty. In addition, in certain cases, bypass surgery may be preferred. For instance, it may be used for persons who have both coronary heart disease and diabetes.

A bypass also can close again. This happens in more than 10 percent of bypass surgeries, usually after ten or more years.

Heart attack and aspirin

Aspirin in heart attack plays a major role in preventing recurrent episodes of attacks. Aspirin is one of the commonest drugs available as the counter drug (OTC Drug-can be obtained from the pharmacy without a doctor’s prescription).

What is aspirin?

Aspirin contains the molecule of Acetyl Salicylic Acid(ASA). Aspirin is prepared from the trunk of the willow tree. It is initially most commonly used as an analgesic drug to alleviate joint pains.

But due to its dangerous side effects, its usage as a pain killer was reduced.

The Role of Aspirin in heart health

The daily intake of 75 mg of aspirin decreases the incidence of a heart attack. It is popularly known as the early morning pill as a heart attack is more common in the early morning.

People who are at high risk of having a heart attack may take aspirin.

During the heart attack, 325mg of aspirin is given as a loading dose with other essential drugs like 75mg of clopidogrel & sublingual administration of 10mg Isosorbitrate. Then it is followed by a daily intake of 150mg of aspirin.

How does the aspirin work?

Aspirin prevents heart attack by blocking the aggregation of platelets. It is a normal mechanism in blood endothelial cells. It blocks the cyclo-oxygenase pathway and thereby decreases the platelet production by Thromboxane A2. Because the platelet aggregation is decreased, the formation of arteriosclerosis is also inhibited. Arteriosclerosis is the culprit of a heart attack.

Side effects and adverse effects of aspirin

Though aspirin in heart attack is very useful, it may cause dangerous effects, as I have mentioned earlier. The commonest side effects are aspirin sensitivity, gastric irritation or acid peptic disease and aspirin-induced asthma.

Though aspirin in heart attack prevention plays an important role, it should not be taken without the guidance of a physician.

EDTA Chelation Therapy Key to an Extended Life Span?

Perhaps you have heard about a technique that is supposed to boost your health, eliminate toxins from your circulation and possibly lengthen your lifespan. Of course, these types of benefits are commonly linked to EDTA chelation.

Chelation Basics

It helps to understand this process to make an informed choice about whether or not you want to include EDTA as a health option. Chelation is certainly not a new technique, but there are now more doctors interested in investigating the possibilities that this therapy may offer.
Chelation is simply a process that binds heavy metals (and other metallic toxins that may be in your bloodstream) and then removes them through your body’s renal system. EDTA is well recognized for its abilities as a chelating compound. However, it is believed that one of the biggest benefits is that EDTA inactivates those free radicals that are circulating in your body.

Intravenous or Oral Administration of EDTA

Pills and liquid chelation products are available, or you can select an intravenous form of EDTA. Although there are forms of oral EDTA available, it appears that the body has difficulty absorbing the disodium when pills are used. This does not mean that the EDTA will help remove metal ions from your bloodstream, but research has shown that the most effective route is intravenous EDTA. If you are interested in IV chelation therapy, you should realize that this process will involve 20+ chelation injections that will be given over several months.

No matter which route you choose, you still need to make selective changes in your lifestyle. In other words, the EDTA can only be effective if you also adopt a program that includes a healthy, well-balanced diet and regular exercise. You should also be using natural vitamin supplements and avoid alcohol or tobacco products.

Past, Present and Future

The medical field has long supported chelation therapy as the therapy of choice when a patient suffers from lead poisoning. This is because EDTA can bind with the lead molecules, rendering them inactive and forcing them to be excreted by the body.

Now it appears that doctors are investigating chelation to clear the major arteries in the body. The chelating agent might be able to remove toxins. Still, it may also be able to open the blood vessels, improve oxygenation and reduce your chance of developing high blood pressure, cardiac problems, Alzheimer’s disease or strokes.

Some supporters believe research will eventually prove that the use of chelation can be beneficial to many people. These individuals claim that a person can reverse PAD, arthritis, cataracts, or diabetes with proper EDTA treatment. In addition, there are some cases where people who have been told that they need heart surgery can improve their body’s cardiac system without surgical intervention.

Case Examples Involving EDTA Chelation

You can find documented proof that as many as 90% of patients suffering from arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) have greatly improved their cardiac status with chelation.

Some patients had developed gangrene in their legs and feet (due to lack of arterial blood flow), and after chelation, these individuals recovered without surgery.

Even the flow of blood to the brain and lungs improves drastically after the patients have undergone intravenous EDTA chelation therapy.

Science has proved that there are positive benefits for patients who undergo chelation treatments. Still, there are a lot of unknown questions about exactly how this process works. However, what is indisputable is that heavy metals are damaging to your body and EDTA chelation therapy offers you a treatment option that will eliminate the problem.

Disclaimer: This Website is for information purposes only. You should consult your physician for correct diagnosis and treatment.